Chapter 39
The next week passed uneventfully for the Reynolds family. They seemed to emerge from the scattering of Ethan’s ashes in a
more peaceful place. Josh was relieved at the passing of the anniversary. All the momentous occasions surrounding Ethan’s
death had been marked with both sadness and closure. A feeling that he’d overcome yet another hurdle in this long journey
called grief . This one seemed more significant than the others.
This week his parents had joined him on the Carolina Dream for his two-hour tour. It felt good to have their support, their approval. Josh had been processing all his father had told
him. In the end, parents were only human. They did the best they could. At least his dad told him the truth and was trying
to improve their relationship. Josh would do his part.
He’d also enjoyed time alone with Maggie this week. His parents had even offered to watch Zoey. Everything seemed to be heading
the right direction.
But inside Josh a storm was brewing.
His dad’s denial of the affair was never far from Josh’s mind. Because if Dad hadn’t fathered Will, as far as Josh could see,
that left only Ethan. But he’d been dating Maggie back then, and Josh couldn’t believe his brother would’ve cheated on her.
Was it possible Will’s dad was his biological father and the boy’s uncanny resemblance to Ethan really was just some random fluke?
In an effort to learn more, Josh decided to do a little fishing. So a few days ago when he’d been eating with the crew, he
asked Big D about his adoptive father. Josh was just trying to figure out how to finagle the information from Will when, like
a gift from heaven, the boy offered up that his dad hadn’t come into his life until he was five.
A gift, and yet a punch in the heart. Every moment since then, Josh had been torn up inside. There was too much evidence for
this to be a coincidence. He had to tell Maggie about his dad’s denial. About Will’s dad. He couldn’t keep that knowledge
a secret from her. He just wasn’t built that way.
Not to mention all the other people involved. If all was as he suspected, his parents had a grandchild they didn’t know—from
the son they’d lost. Zoey had a brother. Owen and Mia, another cousin. Erin and Patrick, a nephew.
And Josh couldn’t forget about Will—especially not when they worked together daily. He’d gotten to know the guy pretty well
the past month. He was a good kid. Thoughtful, hardworking, helpful. They shared a love of sports, even if they rooted for
different teams. And it seemed Will had a biological father he didn’t know about—would never have a chance to meet. But he
also had an extended family. A family who would embrace him and love him unconditionally.
Josh ruminated on the situation as he drove to pick up Maggie for what was sure to be a difficult date. The more he weighed
the facts, the more convinced he became. Dread simmered in his stomach. The rain picked up and he put the wipers on. Had Ethan
known about the boy? Josh couldn’t imagine he had. Josh had enough trouble conceiving that he’d ever cheated on Maggie—and
left the mess for his brother to clean up.
“Did you really do this, Ethan? She did not deserve that. Doesn’t deserve this. And now I have to be the one to tell her. Thanks a lot.”
Maggie was gonna take this hard. Who could blame her? She would learn her dead husband had likely cheated on her—albeit when
they’d been dating. But loyalty was everything to Maggie. When Ethan had gone off to college, she’d been so worried he’d fall
for another girl. Josh and Erin had done everything they could to allay her fears.
But she’d been right after all.
She would be so hurt, confused, and angry. This would turn her world upside down—and so soon after she’d finally found her
footing again. Josh felt like a heel for doing this to her. He just didn’t see any other option. She would return home in
two days and he’d put it off as long as he could.
He tried to focus on the positive. They had made some wonderful memories this week. His thoughts drifted back to Friday night,
when they’d gone to Erin and Patrick’s for a barbecue and a swim. After supper he and Maggie had a few moments alone in the
deep end. He’d caught her around the middle and tugged her to the side where he’d kissed her the way he’d been wanting to
all week. He lost himself in the coconutty smell of her hair, the sweet taste of her mouth, the gentle curves of her waist.
Her skin was warm and silky smooth. Her lips pliant beneath his own. He wanted to stay right there all night, wrapped up with
her like—
Suddenly, she was gone, fluttering away, as peals of laughter carried from the patio. His nieces had invaded their private party. Maggie tossed a coy glance over her slender shoulder. His mind and body slowly shifted gears as she sliced across the pool. He’d forgotten how effortlessly she glided through the water. Moments later when she emerged from the pool, he half expected her to have sprouted fins or a mermaid’s tail.
On Saturday Maggie had finished the last of her swim lessons. She was feeling a bit melancholy about leaving her students,
so Josh distracted her with a trip to the aquarium with Zoey. On Sunday Josh had taken Maggie to The Wharf, arguably the nicest
restaurant in town. They danced afterward—only slow songs for that swanky establishment. Josh wasn’t complaining. Ever since
she’d professed her feelings, he’d felt free to hold her and kiss her and show her how much he adored her. When she did the
same in return, he felt like a new man.
They hadn’t seen each other for three long days, but they’d spent hours on the phone each night and exchanged frequent texts
during the day.
Josh turned into his parents’ drive and shut off the ignition, a heaviness weighing him down. He would take Maggie out for
supper and then he’d break the news.
***
Josh was in an odd mood. Maggie couldn’t put her finger on it. His exchange with his parents and Zoey seemed normal enough.
He swept Zoey into his arms, then chased her around the house with tickle fingers. And the second they stepped outside he
swept Maggie into his arms. “You look beautiful. I missed you.”
“I missed you too.”
He brushed his lips slowly across hers. “Three days is too long.”
But now as he drove to the restaurant, she couldn’t banish the suspicion that something was wrong. Maybe it was the way his hands gripped the steering wheel. Or the tension of his thigh beneath her palm. Whatever it was, it nipped at her like an icy wind.
The wipers arced across the windshield, momentarily clearing the glass. A bank of gray clouds obscured the evening sunlight
as a storm front closed in.
She glanced at Josh. “Everything okay over there?”
He tossed her an unconvincing smile. “Yeah. You hungry?”
“For seafood gumbo? Always. I’ve been meaning to get over to the Seafood Shack all summer. I can’t believe how fast it’s gone
by. That I’m going back to school in four days. That Zoey’s about to start her second year of preschool. She’s growing up
so fast. Also, I’m not quite ready to face my mother. She called today. She’s still angry about Derrick and when I wouldn’t
give in to her demands, she hung up on me. She won’t make it easy, and living in the same town again, it’ll be difficult to
avoid her.”
She glanced at Josh as he turned into the restaurant’s lot. His brows bunched together and his eyes were focused straight
ahead.
He rarely missed an opportunity to tease her about Dr. Derrick. Had he heard a word she’d said? “Josh?”
“What?” He glanced her way before swinging his truck into an empty space. “Sorry. My mind’s someplace else.”
“I can see that. Why don’t you tell me what’s going on.”
Josh turned off the ignition and the wipers stopped their incessant swishing. They unbuckled their belts. “Why don’t we eat
first? I have an umbrella in the back.” He reached between the seats.
She set a hand on his arm. “Did I do something to upset you?”
“No, of course not. These past few weeks have been... They’ve been the best, Maggie.”
At the tender look in his eyes, a warm, happy bubble rose to the surface and gave a soft pop . “For me too. And your parents have been great this week. Offering to watch Zoey, asking about our dates after you leave.
They’re coming around to the idea.”
He nodded. “That’s great.”
“It is... which is why I’m wondering what’s bothering you. I’d rather just talk it over now. Maybe you’ll feel better once
you get it off your chest.”
He closed his eyes for a long blink.
Thunder rumbled in the distance. “Is it something at work?”
He opened them again. The intensity in his expression sent a trickle of dread through her veins. “I found out a few days ago
that Will’s dad isn’t his biological father. He mentioned it during a conversation at lunch.”
“You didn’t tell me.” No wonder Josh seemed so distracted tonight. He must be torn up about his father, his parents. “Oh,
Josh...”
“Maggie... remember when my dad came over last week? When we shot hoops and squared things away?”
“Of course.”
“Right. Well, there was a point when I got angry with something he said. Doesn’t matter what—the point is that I lost my mind
a little and accused him of having an affair years ago.”
“Oh, wow. You didn’t mention it till now? What happened? Did he own up to it?” Everything had seemed so normal around the
house this week. But maybe Becky already knew about the affair.
Josh took her hand as his gaze sharpened on her. “Maggie... he didn’t do it. Will isn’t his child.”
“What?” She frowned. “He denied it?”
“I know my dad—so do you. He looked me right in the eyes. He was adamant about it. He was hurt that I would accuse him of cheating on Mom. I felt like a heel.”
But that didn’t make sense. Maggie shook her head.
“I’m telling you, Maggie...” His words were gentle. “He didn’t do it.”
“Okay... if you say so.” But cold fingers of dread inched up her spine. Because... “If he’s not Will’s father, then
who—?”
She stiffened. “No.”
Josh tightened his grip on her hand. The pity in his eyes turned her stomach. She wrenched her hand away. “ Ethan? He would’ve been, what, nineteen? We were together then. He never would have cheated on me.”
Rain pattered on the roof. Ethan was as loyal as they came, and surely Josh knew that. But clearly he believed Ethan had been
unfaithful to her. Josh’s silence made heat flush through her body. Made sweat prickle the back of her neck.
She fought through the fuzz in her brain and forced herself to be objective and analytical. She needed proof, not emotions,
to convince Josh. “Not only were we together back then, but Robyn was in her midtwenties, and Ethan was away at college. It
doesn’t make logistical sense.”
Except...
Something flashed in her mind. Something from her research earlier that summer. Robyn Jennings had also attended NC State.
But lots of people attended that university. It was the largest in the state.
Maggie stared out the windshield where rivulets of rain spilled like tears down the glass. Ethan’s first year of college they’d gone through that rough spot. Being separated was harder than she expected. She saw him on social media at this party or that event, girls everywhere. Prettier girls, smarter girls, more interesting girls. She never knew how insecure she was until he left, and her mother’s insults buzzed like bees inside her head.
“You’re so jealous and insecure, Maggie. No wonder no one likes you.”
“Don’t be so boring.”
“You’ll never keep a man if you’re not interesting.”
Every time Ethan came home that first year, Maggie feared he’d break up with her. She hadn’t relaxed until the next year when
she moved with her mother to Fayetteville, cutting the distance between them to a one-hour drive. Then the following year
she joined him at college.
He welcomed her into his world, showed her around campus, introduced her to all his friends. She made a name for herself on
the swim team and did well in her classes. Everything seemed good between them. They had a wonderful college experience. With
the unsupervised hours studying and hanging out together, their relationship bloomed.
If Ethan had cheated on her during that first year apart, she would’ve known. His guilt would’ve exposed the truth.
“Talk to me, honey,” Josh said. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“It can’t be true, Josh. He wouldn’t have done that to me and he couldn’t have kept a secret like that for all those years.”
Josh took her hand in both of his. “No matter what, he loved you very much.”
“He wouldn’t have cheated on me.” There had to be some other explanation. “Maybe it really is all just a fluke. Maybe Will’s resemblance to Ethan is just one
of those one-in-a-million things. Maybe we’ve been tearing our hair out all summer over some stupid genetic fluke.”
But the odds were so greatly against that happening right here. Even she couldn’t dismiss it as a coincidence. She studied Josh’s somber expression, his sympathy-filled eyes. “You believe he did it.” Her words came out as an accusation.
He was quiet for a long beat. “I don’t want to believe it, honey. But I can’t find any other plausible explanation.”
If it were true, if Ethan really had cheated on her, he would’ve lied to her for years . And if he could hide something like that, what else could he have lied about? Their relationship would’ve been a lie.
Their whole marriage would’ve been a lie.
“No, he didn’t do it. He didn’t do it. ” But a sob built inside like a cresting wave. She tried to push it down, but there was no holding back the swell of emotion.
It crashed into her with the force of a tidal wave.
Josh pulled her into his arms as sobs wracked her body. “He didn’t do it,” she repeated.
If Ethan could do this, then everything she believed about him was a lie. If someone loved you, they didn’t betray you. They
didn’t lie to you about something so significant. They didn’t look you in the eyes and deceive you. Ethan was innocent.
But she cried anyway. Sobbed.
Josh tightened his embrace. His hands swept over her back, soothing. “I’m sorry. The last thing I wanted to do is hurt you.”
The rain pounded the roof. Her head throbbed. A golf ball lodged in her throat. By the time she pulled away from Josh, she
felt like a gutted fish—raw, exposed, and rotting.
“Do you”—her breaths stuttered—“have a tissue? I’m sorry about your shirt.”
He reached into the glove compartment and came out with a napkin.
She blew her nose even while more tears trickled down her cheeks. It was getting dark now. Past the wet windshield the restaurant’s lights gleamed. She was a wreck. She was deflated and her appetite was long gone. “I’m not hungry anymore.”
“What do you want to do? Anything. Just name it.”
She wanted to go home, pull the covers over her head, and forget the doubts swirling in her mind. But that wasn’t an option.
Her in-laws and daughter were there. “Does your dad know about Will?”
“No, I didn’t tell him anything. It’s up to you what happens from here, Maggie. And you don’t have to do anything right now.
Nothing at all.”
“I don’t wanna go home. I’m a mess and I don’t think I could possibly act normal.”
“Okay.”
“Can we go to your place? I just want to hide until they’re all in bed. I can’t face them tonight.” Not with so many unanswered
questions. Not with this boulder sitting on her heart.
“Of course, honey. Whatever you want.”